Country · Asia
Vietnam
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Vietnam is a country in South-Eastern Asia. About 95.5 million people live there, in an area of 331 212 square kilometres. Its capital city is Hanoi.
Picture credit: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Xiaobin Liu (CC BY-SA 2.0) · NKSTTSSHNVN (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Jakub Hałun (CC BY 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Vietnam?
Vietnam lies in South-Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 800 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 3 444 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Cambodia, China and Laos.
How big is Vietnam?
Vietnam covers 331 212 square kilometres.
That is about 8 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 66th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 288.5 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Vietnam?
About 95.5 million people live in Vietnam.
That is the 15th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Vietnamese.
They pay with the Vietnamese đồng (₫).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 69 years.
The land of Vietnam
Its coast runs for about 3 444 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 172 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Vietnam different?
Dishes the country is known for: Phở and Bún bò Huế.
Websites from here often end in .vn.
Vietnam and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 13 live in Vietnam.
It takes up about 0.25 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 19th of 46 by size, and 8th by population.
Vietnam and its neighbours
China, its largest neighbour, is about 29.3 times bigger.
China has more people: 1.4 billion against 95.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 11 live wild in Vietnam: King cobra, Reticulated python, Domestic pig, Stick insect, Flying fish, Water buffalo and more. The highest mountain in the country is Fansipan, at 3 147 metres. The longest river in the country is the Đồng Nai. The largest lake in the country is Ba Bể Lake.
King cobra
Reticulated python
Domestic pig
Stick insect
Flying fish
Water buffalo
Gaur
Asian tiger mosquito
Sun bear
Siamese fighting fish
Box jellyfish
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Vietnam compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 28 times as big as Vietnam: 9 372 610 km² against 331 212 km². See both on one map
- Vietnam is about 1.4 times as big as the United Kingdom: 331 212 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Vietnam?
The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Vietnam?
About 95.5 million people live in Vietnam, which makes it the 15th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Vietnam?
Vietnam covers 331 212 square kilometres, making it the 66th largest country in the world. That is about 8 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Vietnam?
The highest mountain in Vietnam is Fansipan, 3 147 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Vietnam?
The longest river in Vietnam is the Đồng Nai, about 586 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Vietnam?
The largest lake in Vietnam is Ba Bể Lake. It covers about 7 km².
Which continent is Vietnam in?
Vietnam is in Asia, in the part called South-Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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